


For Tonight

by crankyrage



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-31
Updated: 2013-01-31
Packaged: 2017-11-27 15:46:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/663738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crankyrage/pseuds/crankyrage
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>But, the knocking just gets louder and louder, and Kaner resists the urge to smother himself with his pillow.</p><p>Post 1/30/13 game vs. the Wild</p>
            </blockquote>





	For Tonight

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, everyone. So, this is my first foray into hockey fiction. I just whipped this little diddy up after tonight's shootout loss to Minnesota. Obviously, not much time has elapsed, so mistakes may be present, and they're all my own.
> 
> I'm sorry if this sucks.
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing, and mean no harm by using any real-life person or their likeness; this is simply a work of fiction for entertainment value.

He’s been disappointed before. He is only human, and when you’re an athlete, of any kind, disappointment is kind of an innate part of the territory. No one can always win.

But, it doesn’t really matter how many times he’s been disappointed. It still stings. It still burns. It still leaves him feeling raw and angry. And, if he spent an extra 15 minutes in the shower so no one had to see him cry after the game, that’s only between him and his hygiene routine.

It’s not because he missed his shootout shot. It is, but it’s not. 

It’s just this year was supposed to be different.

This was supposed to be the year he finally outplayed his off the ice antics – that he proved all those people wrong.

This was supposed to be his year to grow up.

He was supposed to make that goal.

He should have. He almost had to. But, he didn’t.

Later that night, when he drags himself back to the hotel feeling too pathetic to go to sleep but not quite adventurous to do anything else, there’s knocking at Kaner’s hotel room door. He doesn’t care, though. He just throws a pillow over his face willing whoever the hell it is to go the fuck away.

But, the knocking just gets louder and louder, and Kaner resists the urge to smother himself with his pillow.

“FUCK OFF!” he yells at the door but the knocking just keeps coming unrelentlessly.

Kaner sighs. He doesn't need this shit. He has his own room so he can have some goddamn privacy. If Sharpy was on the other side of the door demanding he look at pictures of Maddy or watch HGTV with him, he was going to literally kill someone. 

Where’s T.J. Oshie when you actually need him?

The steady knocking continues, and he resists the irrational urge to cry. What is his life?

“I’m coming, I’m coming!” he sighs getting to his feet slowly, “Calm your fucking tits.”

He retches open the door quickly intending to tell Sharpy or Shawsy or Seabs to get the fuck away from him and leave him to his solitude. But, it’s not any of them.

“Hey,” Johnny says quietly having the nerve to look sheepish.

“Hey,” Kaner replies, and it does sound just as stupid when he says it then when Johnny had.

“Can I – umm—“ Tazer motions to inside Kaner’s room avoiding eye contact.

“Uh,” Kaner blinks in return, “Okay,” and moves to let him inside.

Johnny steps into the room and stands awkwardly to the side of Patrick’s bed bouncing on the balls of his feet.

Kaner huffs out a breath and follows him inside bypassing his awkward presence and collapsing onto his bed. He hugs his pillow to his chest just below the chin and waits.

They stare at each other for a while; Johnny looking like he’s about to ask Kaner’s permission to ask one of his sisters to the fucking prom. Which, by the way, he would never in a million years allow because Johnny – no – just no with his sisters. Kaner just stares back blankly.

“What do you want, man?” he finally asks because Johnny’s really starting to weird him out and Patrick doubts that it’s even possible at this point – but here they are.

“I – uhhh—“ Johnny begins to pace the floor of Kaner’s room, “Good game, tonight.”

“Oh yeah,” Kaner snorts sarcastically, “I love choking. Favorite. Thing. Ever.”

Johnny suddenly halts his erratic movement, and Kaner can almost see him switch from awkward-socially-inept Johnny to Captain-Motherfucking-Serious, “You didn’t choke, Kaner. Sometimes, the puck just doesn’t hit the back of the net.”

“Thanks, oh wise Canadian one,” Patrick quips back.

Johnny starts pacing again, “No problem, buddy.”

Kaner lets out a muffled groan, “Can’t you just leave me to wallow in peace?”

Apparently, that pisses Tazer off because he stops his awkward-as-hell pacing and comes right to the side of Kaner’s bed, grabs his pillow away violently and whacks him in the face with it.

“What the hell, man?” Kaner yelps surprised.

Tazer doesn’t respond, he just bites his lip and whacks him again.

“Stop, Jesus Christ,” Kaner whines pathetically rolling away from Johnny.

“You’re not blaming this loss on yourself,” Johnny practically commands.

“Okie doke, Caps! I’ll get right on blaming it on the universe or the erratic midwestern weather or something.”

Johnny glares at him and shoves him over a little more sliding in next to Kaner leaning back on the headboard, “Midwestern weather sounds like a good culprit.”

Kaner rolls back over to face him and jabs him in the ribs, “Fuck you.”

Johnny rolls his eyes and scoffs shoving a hand in Kaner’s face, “That’s hockey, buddy; can’t win them all.”

Kaner laughs so hard he almost rolls off the other side of the bed, “Holy shit. You’ve got to be fucking with me. You are telling me that this is just a game? You – the most competitive annoying fuck on the face of this planet? You who can’t bare to lose at miniature golf, bowling, cards, fucking tiddlywinks, Candy Land, or Yahtzee – don’t think I don’t see you cheating when you think we’re not looking, Tazer.”

Johnny blinks and grumbles something incoherent, “Not true.”

“You’re a fucking cheat and you know it. There’s a reason that Sharpy won’t let you near his kid and a board game,” Kaner replies quickly still snickering to himself.

“She’s not even old enough to play board games, Kaner,” Johnny mumbles in a way that Kaner knows he’s made a valid point.

Kaner gives Johnny a smug smirk, Johnny gives him a douchey one back, and they just kind of sit there in silence for a while – breathing each other in.

“I came here to make sure you were okay – I – I mean – I know how you get – after – y’know—“

Patrick flops a hand over his eyes, “Oh my god, Johnny can you talk like a human being, please?”

“Fuck off – I’m trying to be nice, and you just can’t let me, can you?” Johnny scoffs.

“Ugh – don’t be nice, asshole – it’s weird and foreign on you,” Kaner sighs locking eyes with Johnny.

Johnny rolls his eyes and trudges on, “I don’t like to see you beat yourself up, Kaner—“ Kaner opens his mouth to interrupt but Johnny cuts him off swiftly, “I know I do it. But, it’s – ugh Kaner. Just—“

Kaner just kind of stares at him open-jawed. He really doesn’t know what Johnny’s trying to get at.

“It’s like – it makes me— Christ—“

Johnny stops abruptly and pulls Kaner into the weirdest, most awkward, kind-of-hilarious embrace that Patrick’s ever experienced. But, it’s also kind of awesome, even though they’re both lying kind of awkwardly with Kaner on his stomach and Johnny slumped against the headboard.

Kaner chuckles lightly and flips around in the embrace pulling Johnny down further onto the bed smashing their foreheads together.

They just kind of stare at each other because they’re weird – it’s not really anything new or earth shattering. But, this – it’s kind of intimate.

They lie like that for a good ten minutes just breathing shallowly between their pressed bodies tangling up their legs.

Johnny does roll off after a while, and Kaner lets out a surprised groan and gives Johnny a truly pathetic look.

Johnny just shakes his head and gets out of bed toeing off his shoes and switching off the bedside lamp.

He gathers Kaner in his arms throwing an arm protectively around his waist. 

Kaner relaxes after a few minutes letting his eyes drift closed.

Johnny just presses a kiss in his hair, “Babe, jus’ let me tonight, s’okay?”

It’s a ridiculously sappy scene – and Kaner will try to convince himself later he only allowed himself to feed into a tired cliché because he felt really vulnerable and tired.

But, it’s really because it’s Johnny. So, he supposes he can let him be strong for the two of them tonight. He thinks Johnny’s earned that. Not that he’d ever admit it out loud.


End file.
